Landlords that self-manage their rental property regular encounter these three stressful problems, but there are ways to cope and even eliminate them.

3 Problems That Trip Up People Self-Managing Rental Property

No spoiler alert required: life is full of problems. If you are self-managing a rental property – whether it is a house or apartment – you know that you have more problems than most. Here are three common ones and how to eliminate them. 

The best way to deal with all the added stress of managing your own rental home is to acknowledge, understand, and minimize the problems. With that in mind, what follows are what we determined are the three most repeatable problems you might face, with some suggestions for coping with them.

There are two sets of expectations included here: yours, and those of your tenants or residents.  

Let’s start with you. It’s important to understand if you are the kind of person who sets unrealistic expectations for yourself, because the consequences of that can create problems of their own.

Indeed, as this article from Psychology Today points out, there are the “perils of perfectionism.” As the author writes, “The failure to embrace our humanity with its joys, sorrows, and imperfections leads to a rigid sense of self that shatters easily when we miss our goals.”

Being a landlord means that you will make mistakes on occasion. The key is learning from them. So don’t get trapped in cycles of self-punishment or you will actually make it more difficult to succeed next time. You might not have responded fast enough to the knock on the furnace, but it wasn’t because you are a bad person or don’t care about your house or your tenant.

And speaking of tenants, it’s important for your emotional well-being and success as a landlord to establish ground rules from the beginning. Let them know, first of all, that they are living in a house you love, and you are committed to keeping it in tip-top shape for your sake and theirs.

Explain that you will be super-responsive to true emergencies, or situations that require immediate attention. But at the same time, you will need to triage, and that they should appreciate that, too. Most people are reasonable and once you set the ground rules – and make it clear that you are not a professional landlord – problems should sort themselves out.

When things happen unexpectedly in life, they are far more stressful than things we anticipate and can plan for. This also applies to being a landlord.

For example, you may know that you need to replace your furnace - because your plumber told you that it’s time – so you can get estimates and plan for it, without crushing urgency.

However, if your rental property’s furnace decides to give up the ghost in the middle of the winter, and you have to respond immediately – without the luxury of investigating and researching – well, that’s a high-stress moment. In these situations, if you can't respond immediately, you risk the home being classed as uninhabitable and your tenants could withhold rent. 

First, keep things in perspective. Don’t focus on “how disruptive the event is;” instead pause and assess – determine if the situation is as bad as it might seem at first. Then develop a game plan. And of course, work to manage your stress along the way; WebMD has some great advice here.

It happens all the time, sadly, and dealing with it is never an easy emotional journey. But when you are a landlord, relying on multiple people – including your tenant, your contractors, and others in the rental ecosystem – it can happen a great deal.

Perhaps a tenant acted improperly by not respecting your home, but not living up to their side of the bargain. Or perhaps a contractor let you down by not being on time, or delivering shoddy work. It happens and we have to deal with it.

Again, we turn to the experts at Psychology Today. They have some solid advice to share, which includes “allow your feelings.” “Decide if you need to speak up” and “acknowledge your unmet needs.” The latter is deep – is it related to feelings unrelated to the issue at hand? – but worth consideration.

The stress-free alternative to self-managing your rental

These problems are unavoidable when you make the decision to manage your own property, yet completely eliminated if you rent your home with Belong. Belong is the modern property management company that takes on all the major – and minor – pain points of being a landlord. Specific to the challenges raised in this article, Belong establishes and maintains the highest of expectations from both our homeowners and residents, thanks to a unique combination of an end-to-end digital platform, and 24/7 Concierge services. This means that those "out of left field” problems and disappointments can be immediately addressed and solved, and that no one is ever, ever let down.

If you’re interested in learning more about Belong – and how we are transforming the property management business – check out belonghome.com/homeowners.

We hope the songs compiled here trigger within you, as they do within us, the power of home – especially relevant after Thanksgiving and before Christmas.

A Playlist to Get You in a Homey State of Mind

We here at Belong are constantly obsessing over all things home-related.  Our ears — and hearts — perk up whenever we hear the word.  Which is probably why we respond so immediately and emotionally to the songs collected on this playlist -- songs that communicate what we feel when we help connect people to the places where they live -- and the people they live with.

Without further ado, our favorite songs about home from the 60s and 70s:

1. Homeward Bound — Simon and Garfunkel

2. Our House — Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young 

Sure, boomers got a lot of things wrong — we’re not going to position ourselves on the unfashionable side of that argument — but it’s hard to deny the appeal of these two songs, which we’ve always thought of as two sides of the same coin.  The Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young song revels in the comfort and stability promised by home, while the Simon and Garfunkel tune longs for those very qualities. It’s the difference between being there and wanting to be there. 

3. Wouldn’t It Be Nice — The Beach Boys

The other thing about boomers is they know from their harmonies.  Though the word “home” never appears in the lyrics of this song, the bliss they describe is specifically domestic.  It’s the joy of living with someone you love, in a house that you love, that makes this song so timeless. 

4. The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest — Bob Dylan

Surrealistic, yet earthy, it’s difficult to pin down the exact meaning of this song (as is often the case with Dylan’s lyrics).  Though when Dylan sings “It’s not a house / It’s a home” we know precisely what he’s talking about.  In fact, it’s this idea that Belong is built on — the idea that a house only becomes a true home through the relationship its residents develop with it. It’s love and familiarity that make a house a home: without that emotional component, it’s just wood and cement.

5. Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere — Neil Young

The title song of Young’s breakthrough as a solo artist, “Everybody Knows” expresses how meaningful home is to the singer, by telling us how unimportant everywhere else is.  If he’s not there, he’s nowhere, drifting in the void.  A powerful thought, set to a jaunty, gutbucket guitar figure.  And something you can imagine exerts a powerful lure to a musician who spent so much time on the road.

6. Take Me Home, Country Roads — John Denver

Though Belong doesn’t yet operate in West Virginia – yet! –  we still relate to the warm, ecstatic love for home that this song expresses, and the sense of yearning we feel when we’re anywhere else but home.   

Having spent Thanksgiving week in a tryptophan dream watching Get Back on Disney Plus, we are fonder than ever of this acoustic ditty that finds Paul McCartney and John Lennon duetting for one of the very last times.  Like the John Denver song, it has a homey tug, a nostalgic vibe perfectly suited to the subject matter.  Which is the beautiful thing about a home you love — you feel wistful thinking about it, but unlike most things that make you feel that way, it’s always there waiting for you at the end of the day.

Like Robert Frost said, “Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in.”

8. Looking Out My Back Door — Creedence Clearwater Revival

One of the Dude’s favorites — and one of our favorites, too — this Creedence classic tells the story of a man coming home and immediately feeling so comfortable there that he stumbles into a surrealist fantasia.  From his porch he sees a giant doing cartwheels and a statue in high heels, imploring the listener to “look at all the happy creatures dancing on the lawn.” Rarely has the surreal and psychedelic felt so comforting and familiar. 

We’d be remiss if we didn’t list this roots-rock staple, which proves that home isn’t only where the heart is, but where the imagination thrives. 

10. The House I Live In – Frank Sinatra

And to conclude, something a little different – this classic ballad sung by the inimitable Frank Sinatra, that broadens the definition of home, taking in not only the building you live in, but the neighborhood, the state, and the country.  In these trying times, it is songs like these that remind us of the spirit that unites us all.

This holiday season, we hope that this collection of songs makes you feel the way we do -- like you Belong somewhere.

While innovating and replacing traditional property management services, we have been faced with a dilemma on what to call our services, tenants and landlords.

Belong is Innovating Property Management

Belong is innovating property management — to the point where it breaks every norm and convention of the category. But people like to put even the freshest and most disruptive ideas into boxes. So what should we do?

Belong was started because its founders believed that the world of property management was fundamentally broken. It didn’t serve the people who owned homes, or the people who they rented to. It needed a re-boot.

When you fix something, though — and fix it in a way that it doesn’t resemble what came before – how do you describe that? It’s not as easy as it seems. Do you use the language that people know – even when it’s misleading – or do you invent a new language, and possibly confuse people?

That was Belong’s dilemma. We weren’t the first. As an example of what others faced, Apple still called the iPhone a phone, though it was completely different from what came before it. They didn’t call it an “enhanced intelligent communicator.”

Starbucks positioned itself as a “third place” between home and work, and with its comfy couches that invite you to stay a while, and beautifully designed aesthetics, it is indeed a different world than your traditional coffee shop. But they proudly declare themselves as Starbucks Coffee, even as they demonstrate every day that they’re not what they say they are.

That gives us some comfort.  After all, when people search for “property manager” or “rental agreement” on Google — and millions of people do that every day — they need to find us.  If they weren’t able to, that would make us useless – a cool new idea that no one knows about, understands, or has a framework to put us in.  

What’s more (and to level with you) we face a similar issue with terms like “landlord and “tenant.”  We hate, hate, hate to be associated with them. They are feudal and inherently create an adversary framework.  That’s why we came up with a new Belong vocabulary, where our community is described as consisting of  “Homeowners” and “Renters.” That’s certainly warmer and friendlier language, but again, because people already know what landlords and renters are – probably too well – we hold our noses and use those terms when we need to be super-clear.

But – at the end of the day –  we have enough trust in community to recognize what we are, and how different we are, no matter what we call ourselves.

The happy truth is, when people find us - and then discover what we are able to do for them -  they come to their own conclusions.  They say to themselves things like:

A property manager who guarantees rent? Unheard of!

A property manager who will find people to love my house as much as I do? That’s what I’ve been waiting for!

A property manager that hires and assigns and manages its own contractors? Impossible!

A property manager that gives me sweet digital access to my entire experience? You’ve got to be kidding!

A property manager that does all that? It would be a disservice to call them a property manager!

So there you have it.  Sounds like we need to embrace the language others use, while simultaneously making it clear that dated terminology doesn’t apply. 

It’s a contradiction, but one we will need to live with.

Most Americans are feeling some level of toxic burnout. If you’re not a professional, managing your own property can make it worse.

Is Managing Your Own Property Causing You To Burnout?

We’ve all said it, or heard someone say it:

In fact, it is more than a casual expression, it is a real condition – and a serious one at that.

This definition defines the problem perfectly, we think:

Burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It occurs when you feel overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and unable to meet constant demands. 

This situation existed long before the pandemic. As Jill Lepore wrote in the New Yorker in May of this year, “burnout is generally said to date to 1973; at least, that’s around when it got its name. By the nineteen-eighties, everyone was burned out.”

Lepore goes on to add that “To be burned out is to be used up, like a battery so depleted that it can’t be recharged. In people, unlike batteries, it is said to produce the defining symptoms of ‘burnout syndrome’: exhaustion, cynicism, and loss of efficacy.”

And don’t think that burnout chooses one generation over another; its toxic effects cross demographic segments.  In a book called Can’t Even: How Millennials Became The Burnout Generation by Anne Helen Peterson, the author – a  BuzzFeed News reporter – describes herself as a “pile of embers.” 

There is, of course, no shortage of surveys that track the burnout phenomenon. This particular piece of research – a study called “Burnout Nation – finds that a whopping and nearly unfathomable 76 percent of employees are burned out on their jobs.   Researchers link this to not just the pandemic, but to “major political upheavals and natural disasters ranging from wildfires to hurricanes.”

Add to this a combination of increased work responsibilities and job insecurity, months of homeschool and caregiving duties, and the data speaks for itself.

As you can see, burnout isn’t caused by just one thing. It happens bit-by-bit – accumulates layer-by-layer – as a multitude of tasks and responsibilities that leave no room for thought, reflection, or enjoyment to build up.

As the experts at Healthline put it: “The stress that accompanies each single factor might be manageable on its own, but the combination can easily overwhelm you if you don’t take steps to get support.”

Is managing a rental property adding to your burnout?

If you’re feeling burnout, and are experiencing the symptoms we describe at the beginning of this piece, it's important that you recognize it, and take steps to change it.

One cause could be the results of the decision you’ve made to manage your own rental property – especially if you’re an amateur in this, and doing it on the side. If that’s the case, it’s time to take a good hard look at what self-managing is doing to your overall well-being.

When you look at the causes of burnout, many of them can be linked back to the stresses and pressures of what amounts to 24/7 availability.

It doesn’t matter if you are called upon that often: just the idea that you might be called upon is truly the trigger when it comes to stress, the anticipatory dread that you could get an urgent email or phone call at any moment.

Healthline notes that “It’s tough to make changes when you don’t know exactly what needs to change, but exploring contributing factors or sources of stress in your life can help.”

They go on to point out that “Trying to do too much on your own also creates an ideal environment for burnout to fester.”

At Belong we constantly hear from our homeowners that we have lifted a huge burden from their lives, and helped them deal with the burnout phenomenon.  Whether it’s collecting the rent, finding residents, or managing the inevitable issues that come up all the time, Belong has built the first true 21st-century property management company.

We combine the best of digital and the best of human caring, to dial down the burnout blaze. Learn more about us here.

This Q&A guide will walk through some of the most common questions around becoming a landlord and the time commitment of self-managing your own rental property.

How Do I Manage My Own Rental Property? Your Questions Answered

Homeowners new to the rental market often ask "how do I manage my own rental property?" This Q&A guide will walk through some of the most common questions around becoming a landlord and the time commitment of self-managing your own rental property. 

Question: How do I find quality tenants without a property manager?

Finding the right tenant is the single most important task a homeowner has. Generally this is handled by a property manager, but if you're going it alone, you will need to get a real understanding of the way that real estate platforms work, like Zillow, Trulia, and  Realtor.com. 

You will also need high-quality, professional images of your property and for maximum results, a video walkthrough or virtual open house. This will help hook prospective tenants. 

Once you’ve mastered the underlying processes, you will have to post your property, review applications, show the house, and make your decision. All that can eat a couple of hours a day, for as long as it takes to rent your place. 

During the “find and secure a tenant phase,” depending on whether you have a broker to show the property or if you are doing it yourself, you should budget between 15% and 40% of your time to the task, with the expectation that the process will take at least a month.

Question: How can I screen tenants myself?

Before accepting a new tenant and having a lease drawn up, you will need to spend the necessary time and money on credit and background checks and identity verification as well. 

Your tenant screening process needs to address the following:

Reviewing applications and looking out for errors and omissions

Investigate and verify self-employment financials 

Arrange a background check to look for a history of evictions or criminal activity

You can hire a tenant screening company or use software to assist with these tasks, which we have outlined in this post.

Question: How much time does it take to manage my own rental property?

The answer of the time commitment for self-managing a rental isn't a straightforward calculation. The amount of time you need to set aside for property management not only includes the time required for the expected obligations you will have, but also for the unexpected.

The expected requirements are reasonably obvious to everyone who has owned a rental property; they range from having to find great tenants and screen for them, to making necessary updates and repairs, to collecting rent and maintenance. But it is the unexpected demands that are the most troublesome and vexing for homeowners and managers, because they appear unexpectedly and can disrupt your daily life.

Whether it is something you can plan for – or otherwise – every responsibility you take on has sub-tasks and sub-sub-tasks beneath them. It is these layers of work that many homeowners fail to take into account when they are deciding whether to hire a property manager or take the task upon themselves.

Question: How long will it take to prepare my property for rent? 

We all know the complexities involved in renovations and repairs; even relatively minor “freshening” tasks like painting, or having the floors done, or deep cleaning of kitchens and bathrooms, takes time: you have to find contractors, check their backgrounds, and then manage the process. 

During the most intense period of this work – when you are getting your place in shape, and are under pressure because the longer your place remains vacant, the less money you’re taking – you should allocate for as much as half your time on a combination of taking bids from contractors, supervising the work, and acting as a mini-general contractor, as you manage painters, plumbers, and electricians.

During the renovation and repair phase, time demands vary wildly, depending on how much work the property needs, or how much staging is required. If the property only needs some light work and staging, you could be away with 10% of your time. But if you’ve inherited a place that hasn’t been touched for years – or if it needs a ton of work to bring it up to market standards – it could take half your time for a month, or more.

Question: Is their software for landlords I can use to self-manage my rental?

Yes,  there are a number of platforms out there that can assist self-managed landlords. For example, Quicken offers a landlord package, as do dedicated platforms like Doorloop.

Keep in mind, though, that like any software, it takes time and effort to learn and acclimate yourself to these systems. And it is not going to eliminate the manual work since many local contractors don’t have e-billing, so you will need to manually enter the paperwork, and scan the invoices into the system. Accurate record-keeping is essential to make sure you’re prepared when tax season rolls along; we’ve heard many stories about “shoebox” filing systems, and how homeowners who tried to save time during the year-end up spending hours upon hours organizing a year’s worth of records for their accountants.

Once the tenant is in place, assuming your work will involve collecting the rent and normal maintenance, you should get by with between an hour and two hours a week.

Question: Is there an alternative to hiring a property management company without doing all the work myself?

There’s a lot to keep track of as a landlord, so getting into that business solo isn’t for the faint of heart. Belong is redefining what it means to work with a property manager. We’re not a traditional property management company, but rather a long-term rental platform dedicated to reinventing the home rental experience.

So if you’re ready to become a successful landlord, but don’t want to deal with all the time-consuming nuts and bolts from tenant screening and property taxes to understanding the rental market and bookkeeping, let’s get started.

Renters are just people looking for a place to call home. Here's how treating them with a more humane approach can have better results for your rental property.

Renters Are People Too, Let's Treat Them As Such

Renters are more than just ‘tenants’ — they’re people looking for a place to call home. It’s time to ditch your property manager for a company that can see beyond the numbers and take a human approach to finding a person who will adopt your home as their own. 

Even if you’re currently a homeowner, there was probably a point in your life when you were on the other side of things — when you were living in a rental. Think back to what life was like then. Did you act as if your home belonged to someone else? Did you ever invite a friend over to see “the landlord’s house?” Or did you simply say “let’s have dinner at my place”? 

Belong thinks it’s important to keep that dynamic in mind — to remember that when you own a house or apartment on the rental market, you’re not leasing out a dead space. You’re inviting someone to make themselves at home. 

The danger in property managers that treat people like numbers

Property managers rarely refer to the people behind the financial transaction. They’re known simply as ‘prospects’ or ‘tenants’. If your property manager is viewing people this way, they’re not seeing the big picture. Property managers that treat people like numbers won’t find the right people to occupy your home, because they’re not considering the emotional connection that people have to the places they call home. If you experience this when meeting with a property management company, we suggest you run the other way! 

Taking a human approach to renting your home

Looking for great tenants means taking a human approach to renting your home. By treating people in the rental market with the respect they deserve and inviting them to make themselves at home, they’re more likely to treat your house as their own. 

This creates a win-win situation for everyone involved. Renters can feel safe and comfortable in a space that feels like home. As the landlord, you reap the benefits of having a stable rental income from people that are in for the long haul and are in no hurry to move.

That’s why Belong refers to people who rent homes as ‘residents,’ to underline the fact that these are places in which they reside. Residents adopt a home as their own. Similarly, Belong refers to you not as “the landlord”, but as a homeowner. Belong tries to create a mutual respect between our homeowners and residents, with a shared appreciation for a property you’re both invested in.

Turning the rental experience into a hospitality service

Think about the lengths that large hotel brands and even vacation rental services like Airbnb go to make people feel comfortable and even “at home” when they’re staying with them. And yet traditional property management services — the very businesses who are supposed to be finding everyday living accommodation for people — do the complete opposite. 

Belong’s changing that. Its human approach is turning the rental experience into a world-class hospitality service for both you and your residents. Unlike traditional property management services, Belong provides a complete end-to-end service with full transparency. Belong matches houses with residents that are looking for a long term place to live — somewhere to call home. Belong currently offers services to homes in the Bay Area, the LA area, Orange County, Seattle, Miami, Orlando, and Tampa (with many more to come!). See if you qualify today at Belong.com.

These 4 inspiring trends are easy to integrate into your home – and will make potential residents line up at your next open house.

4 Design Trends Every Landlord Needs to Be Aware Of

As the calendar turns to 2022, it’s time to consider what design features can make your home more attractive on the rental market. These 4 inspiring trends are easy to integrate into your home – and will make potential residents line up at your next open house.

It’s true in fashion, music, and movies: with every new year comes new trends. It’s also the case with interior design and décor, which is a subject that our readers care a lot about. After all,  how a home or apartment looks, the visual impression it makes, can determine how much it will bring on the open market. 

Keep in mind, though, that at Belong we don’t fashion ourselves as experts when it comes to design. But we are alert observers, and given how carefully we follow what’s happening in the real estate world, we have naturally developed a sense of what’s cool and what’s not. 

The trends that we predict for 2022 look both forward and back. They are practical and psychological reactions to the seemingly endless pandemic cycle we still find ourselves in, while also anticipating what life will be like once COVID’s firmly in the rear-view mirror. 

Understanding these trends will help you understand the state of mind of your residents, so you can anticipate their wants and needs. 

Design Trend #1: Flexible Layouts/Multi-Hyphenate Rooms

As we’ve spent more and more time at home over the past few years, we’ve begun to re-think what the home is really for – and how it satisfies us - on both a macro and micro scale. 

It’s been happening for a while but is even more true today. The names you typically see assigned to the interconnected boxes on a floor plan are no longer relevant: the “dining room” isn’t used just for dining, nor is the living room reserved exclusively for family time. 

The lines have been blurred permanently. People who are looking at your house aren’t just considering how they’re “supposed” to use each individual space — they’re wondering what else they’ll have to use it for. A kitchen that doubles as a teleconferencing hub, a bedroom that acts as a home office, a playroom that can also be used as a home gym. The landlords and homeowners that can anticipate the needs of their renters and accommodate them will be the ones that have the happiest — and longest-term residents. 

For some inspiration, consider this article from Good Housekeeping, that shows how a simple trundle bed can turn a kids’ playroom into a second bedroom, or how a folding table can turn a dining room into a living room with the drop of a leaf. 

As a result of our being shut in to such a degree over the past few years, biophilic design – design that reflects our desire to be in contact with nature – is trending up this year. That means you should expect to see more skylights, wall-wide windows, and houseplants beautifying your Instagram and Pinterest feeds all year.  The Nordroom also expects to see more natural materials being used in interior design – everything from cork boards to terra cotta floors. These kinds of touches can serve as a reminder of the world we’re missing out on, the world outside our doors; they make us feel warm and nostalgic for the lives we were leading only a few years ago. At their most inspiring, they make it feel like you’re bringing a bit of the out-of-doors into your life.

Speaking of bringing the outdoors inside, we see a return of the sort of natural and earthy tones that were prevalent in the 70s. Not just your browns and oranges (which, according to Vogue, are in this year), but greens, too — seafoam, mint, and sage. Etsy’s most searched color is emerald green – in fact, they’ve named it their color of the year!

We’re not saying you’re going to see a big revival of shag carpets and drug rugs and lava lamps. Instead of feeling retro and passe, we predict these colors will feel soft and subtle, warm and inviting. So if you’re looking for new residents, don’t be afraid of painting the walls a color other than white — at least not this year. In this article from Good Housekeeping, interior designer Beth Diana Smith namechecks Sherwin Williams’ Evergreen Fog. People are looking for interiors that remind them of nature, and subtly evoking that feeling through a smartly chosen wall paint can be a cheap and easy way of accomplishing just that. 

Because we’ve spent so much time indoors — and because whenever a new COVID variant emerges, the only safe place to have social interactions seems to be outside — making the most of whatever outdoor space you have will make your home more attractive. 

But how can you make your outdoor space feel as homey and welcoming as a living room or a den? A new patio or deck, a gazebo or a firepit, a bright shiny new barbecue or grill, fashionable, comfortable outdoor furniture— anything that makes it easier for your residents to spend time outside with their friends will make your home that much more lovable. 

Making your rental home more attractive 

Obviously if you’re self-managing your own rental property it isn’t as important to be on-trend as it is if you’re running your own design consultancy. But still, in order to make your home as desirable and marketable as possible — and to attract the best possible tenants —  it’s smart to be aware of what’s in, and what’s out, when you’re staging and photographing your house.

First impressions matter, whether in-person or video, the photographs and video tours that Belong can create for you. Keeping your property up-to-date signals to potential residents that the house is loved and looked after.  Even your future resident decides to move in their own furniture, who among us doesn’t want to be inspired?

All that makes it that much more likely that they themselves will love and look after it.

Want to learn more about how Belong can help make your home more attractive to potential residents? Click here.

Looking to attract more views at an open house for your rental property? Get inspiration from four trends that are easy to integrate into a rental home.

Poet Sarah T. Jewell wrote a series of haikus for Belong to capture the range of emotions we feel when we have a sense of belonging and safety in a home.

The Poetry of Home: Unexpected Haikus from a Property Manager

Belong believes there are two kinds of domestic bliss: of course there’s the emotional relationship that develops between two people who live together and love each other.  At the same time, there’s the bond that develops between people and the home they live in.

It’s a beautiful thing, the way people respond when they’ve found a place to call home; it inspires a sense of comfort, of joy, even of romance.  A palette of emotions that is maybe best expressed poetically. 

Which is why Belong has commissioned award-winning poet Sarah T. Jewell to write a series of haikus that capture – in the prescribed 5-7-5 syllable count – the range of emotions we feel when we are safe at home. 

The editor-in-chief of Belong’s blog, marketing guru Adam Hanft, was so inspired by Sarah’s work that he was moved to write some haikus of his own.

Feel inspired to write a haiku of your own? Tweet us, or reach out on Facebook!

Property Management should mean a lot more than collecting the rent. It should wrap its arms around everything a homeowner could ever need. Feng Shui advice included.

A Short But Invaluable Guide to Feng Shui for Property Owners

We’ll start with a quick definition of feng shui, for those of you not familiar with the ancient practice. It’s a Chinese set of design principles based on arranging furniture in order to optimize harmony with nature. The two words communicate that origin: “feng” translates to “wind,” and “shui” to “water.”

By designing based on the system of laws represented by feng shui – whether it’s a living room or a skyscraper – you can improve the flow of energy, or the qi (pronounced “chee”), and improve the relationship between an individual and the environment.

As a landlord you might not think that the feng shui of your rental property is important.  Quite the opposite. Your home is an extension of you, so any Feng Shui problems will circle back to you (remember that this practice is all about the flow of energy, negative and positive.) 

Read some home-focused haikus written by poet, Sarah T. Jewell

For example, if the people occupying your house have financial problems, those issues will have an impact on you. Similarly, if positive vibes are flowing through the home, those will reach into your life as well. “Feng Shui your rental properties for good luck” this blog urges.

Now that we’ve made the argument, you’re probably wondering what you can do to up your Feng Shui game. Have no fear, we’ve got you covered with the basics, so you can create the positive energy you want in your homes and your life. (You’re all about positive energy yourself, we can feel it!)

First things first — your front door (after all, what’s more firstly than that?). Make sure it doesn’t creak or stick or rub. It should open beautifully, not just because it is the first impression you will make on a prospective resident, but because energy flows in through the same portal. Which means that all the Feng Shui areas of the home – Career, Wisdom, Family, Wealth, Fame, Love, Children, Helpful People, and Health – will benefit from a door that opens with ease and fluidity.

Our thoughts on how plants can bring positive energy to a home

The good news here is that if you have a front door problem, one of our network of over 10,000 contractors can remedy the situation for you. They can also address all of the other – umm – sticking points that stand between your home and positive Feng Shui. For example, painting is essential because a well-maintained home keeps energy flowing, and our homeowners have instant access to master painters.

There’s also an entire art to choosing the colors most suitable for positive qi. Each color stands for a different aspect of nature. For example, “mid-tone blues and teals represent the wood element (while) wood is connected to growth, vitality, and compassion.”  Red is the most powerful color in Feng Shui, and is used to protect – and also to clear – a home, and the energy of those who inhabit it. Browns and other similar tones introduce earth-related energy, which helps with grounding and stability.

Lighting also has a profound impact on Feng Shui. Here’s a great article with some illuminating tips.

We also need to point out that a bitter enemy of positive Feng Shui is junk. Clutter stops the qi from flowing; even a pile of toys can trap energy. To explain it all, we recommend the book Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui: Free Yourself from Physical, Mental, Emotional, and Spiritual Clutter Forever. Remember that Feng Shui existed millennia before Marie Kondo.

Of course, when it comes to arranging your furniture, Feng Shui continues to play an important role. Here are two YouTube videos about applying the principles to bedrooms and living rooms. They have over a million views between them, so take note!

We believe that this background information and the tips in the links we’ve provided will point you in the right Feng Shui direction. Indeed, once you see the world through the powerful and curative lens of this Chinese practice, you will probably want to make sure your primary house or apartment is aligned. Here are some tips for using Feng Shui to make your home office as productive and joyful as possible. We particularly like the idea of laying the bagua – the Feng Shui energy map – on your desk, and organizing it to optimize the eight areas of your life.  Make sure nothing is interrupting the flow of your wealth corner!

At Belong, our mission is to connect people who own much-loved houses with people who are ready to move in and love them back.  Making sure your house has been organized according to the principles of Feng Shui is a valuable way to demonstrate – and share – that love.

How do I rent out a property as a landlord, but live far away? Do I need a property manager or can I manage myself? We answer FAQs on owning interstate rentals

Long-Distance Landlord: How To Manage a Rental Home From Afar

Whether you had to move for work or picked up a steal of a property in another city, it’s not uncommon to live far away from a home you rent out. Even more so in 2024. With many homeowners holding onto interest rates too good to give up, renting out a home is often a better option when opportunity knocks in another city. 

This is why we get asked so often, “How do I rent out a property when I live far away?” 

Particularly if you’re considering the DIY self-management route, there’s a lot to consider before taking on the challenge from another state. It’s not impossible, but here are six questions to consider first. 

6 questions to consider before self-managing a rental home out-of-state

1. How often can I travel to my rental home? 


When preparing your home for the rental market, you will need to get it move-in ready. You’ll need to arrange a deep clean, attend to repairs and have professional photographs and video taken for your online listing. These are not remote tasks. Someone will need to be at the home to let in contractors, cleaners, and a real estate photographer.

If you travel to your rental home, be sure to keep accurate records of everything from your trip. You may be eligible to claim some costs such as airfares, hire car and petrol, even hotel accommodation as a tax expense for managing your rental home. 

If travel is too far or just not a viable option, is there someone you trust close by that you could enlist for help? This is where having a property manager or modern alternative like Belong can make the process much smoother, taking care of all preparations and listings on your behalf. If you do hire someone to manage the process, you can claim these fees at tax time too. 

Discover Belong: The best alternative to Property Management in Seattle, Redmond, Oakland, and many more cities across California, Texas, Utah, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, and Washington State.     


When you live far away from your rental home, how you collect rent is another consideration. Checks and cash are out of the question! Thankfully, paying rent online is commonplace these days — not to mention safer. 

But before you choose an online platform, be aware that using popular peer-to-peer online payment apps like PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, and Cash App can leave you open to disputes and rent payment fraud. While simple and user-friendly, they are not designed for landlords or rent collection. 

There’s also the issue of late payments. Do you have the time and resources to follow up and stay on top of unpaid rent bills from out of state? Aside from the time, effort and stress, the reality is that mortgage and expenses don’t stop adding up when the rent goes unpaid.

This is why guaranteed rent is Belong’s most popular product. It’s proven and beloved by over 2,000 Belong homeowners, who receive their rental income like clockwork (no matter when the residents pay).

Read More: How Guaranteed Rent is Changing Property Management Forever

3. Who will manage home tours and inspections?


Property management is not a set-and-forget kind of job. Aside from the initial tours to lease the home, inspections can help to monitor wear and tear or damage. It’s also an opportunity to connect with your residents to make sure they’re happy and are sticking to the conditions of the lease agreement.

You could opt for video inspections if you have established a good relationship with your tenant. But if this is a new lease or you ask residents to show you around virtually, you could miss important clues to damage or repair needs on the property. 

This is another reason why many long-distance rental owners prefer to hire someone to manage the home for them. If you still want to DIY, you’ll need to enlist some local help for the role of on-site inspections. This could be a trusted friend, an employee, or a service such as Inspectify, who can arrange an inspection report on-site. 

4. How easily can I access good local contractors? 


If there’s a maintenance or repair issue in your rental home, how soon can you respond from afar? It’s an important question for out-of-state landlords, because how you resolve issues is a reflection of your professionalism and can avoid minor issues from turning into costly headaches. 

If you’re fielding maintenance requests from out of state, you will need to have fast access to good local contractors close to your rental home. This is easier said than done, with the US experiencing a major labor shortage in most trades that homeowners need. With so much work to go around, contractors are often drawn to large jobs that pay the most. This can leave rental homeowners waiting months for repairs and maintenance. 

If you don’t have good local knowledge or access to contractors, Belong can help. Our expert team will handle all resident communication and have an extensive vendor network of over 10,000 contractors for fast maintenance and repairs.

Read More: Why Ignoring Rental Home Maintenance Could Cost You More Than Repairs

5. Are local laws different from my home state?


Tenant-landlord legislation varies between states and counties. If you live in Austin, but rent out a home in Seattle, you’ll need to be up to speed with the laws that govern both the state of Washington and the local cities of Seattle. Not doing your homework could land you in hot water if you get it wrong. 

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